The Book Thief. *****
This book is put simply, a masterstroke. It encapsulates a side of the second world war that we, (the victorious allies), in particular give little if any thought to. It humanises 3rd Reich Germany, it's inhabitants and gives a totally unique perspective on death. Oh and it's gut wrenchingly moving - here on Planet Beth we do not cry at fictional accounts unless we are very very very tired, or moved beyond words, many books/films and such like that are meant to reduce you to tears leave me cold, often thinking "awww how sweet, but really why is the individual next to me crying the metaphorical river? Are they incapable of separating reality from fiction?" - yet whilst sat on a northern rail bucket service from Leeds to my home town yesterday evening I found peculiar salty excretions pooling in my eyes, blurring the text in front of me. I immediately put it down and fired off a text to The Brown informing her that this book was now a member of the elite group of books that made Beth cry and ignored the book for a few hours until I could read it objectively.
The story is told to you by Death, who only wears a cowl when it's cold out and finds the notion of him carrying a scythe hysterically funny. Death's narration makes it immediately obvious that he is going to be rather busy in this book. And indeed the book begins with a death, the catalyst for the book thief's, book thievery and the first time death meets Liesel Meminger, the titular thief. Already a victim of the Nazi regime separated from her communist father, (who were the first victims of Hitler seen as the great political enemy) and now being separated from her mother, Liesel's brother dies on the way to their new home, the small town of Molching outside Munich, where Liesel will spend the rest of the book. The book is beautifully written with lovingly crafted, realistic characters, from the lemon haired Rudy, to the on going neighbours spat (punnery! You'll have to it read to find out why), between Rosa and Frau Holtzapfel, the haunted Ilsa, and the warmth and love of Hans, the exploits of a young girl discovering not only a love of words and books, but their infinite power to both good and evil, Hitler's oratory ability and memoir Mein Kampf providing the foil. This is not just a coming of age of tale, this is a book of love and loss. It is a challenge to the way we think not just of war but of those on every side of what our ghostly narrator terms the seven sided dice, a narrator who is not interested in the outcome because for him the ultimate outcome is always the same, but how it gets there. In this way, Zusak on purposely reveals the ending long before it comes, yet it has little effect on the impact and emotion that pummels the reader like a machine gun barrage as the book reaches its heart wrenching yet life affirming conclusion. Despite the aching sadness and grief, hope shines through... it is the end but not the end Liesel's adventures are not over, not all is lost. It deals with the many facets of the human condition in a way that few books manage, exploring our reactions to both evil and kindness, and how we then behave in the face of them, something particularly evident in Max's story.
Damnit this book is superb. I started reading and with the exception of having to do pesky things like seminars and changing trains I didn't stop. Until it made me cry on public transportation, and then I put it in a bag and started fiddling with non existent eyelash irritation...
Zusak's use of German words and phrases throughout only served to make the book more real, and personal, gave these eclectic mix of barbarians an authenticity and depth that in lesser hands would have felt tacky and unnecessary. As a speaker of German, there were certain turns of phrase that tickled my linguistic funny bone that might be lost on the average reader, but that does nothing to lessen the book's appeal, but rather heighten its quirky beauty.
Next Wednesday sees the general release of the film adaptation. As regular readers will know, I approach it with much fear and trepidation, as I have a crippling anxiety over what will be lost, it's probably good I'm not a screenwriter, the translation of death's narration from the page to the screen is going to be a tricky one... to cut him from the film would lose much of the beauty of the book.
So whilst this gem is still only 99p in the Kindle store go and buy it SOFORT! (German for immediately), one of the best books I've read in a long time.
Simply awesome.
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